Paeonia TOW - Part 2

Mary Sue wrote,
>My soil is on the acidic side however so that too could make it difficult.
>And our summers are more moderate than hot and Jim made it sound like the
>Mediterranean one like hot summers.
My soil is acidic also (pH ranging from 5.5 to 6 in most places) and I
don't lime where the peonies are. They do fine anyway. The summers here are
probably no hotter than where Mary Sue lives, most of the time, though I
don't get much marine fog, as they do.
>Jane has mentioned one seed source. Are there others? What is the trick to
>growing them from seed? Does the seed need to be fresh? Do you send
>Paeonia seed to the NARGS seed exchange Jane of the ones you grow?
Exchanges are the main source other than the Halda list, but
garden-collected seed is very likely to be misidentified or to produce
hybrids. My garden seed would be likely to contain mixed messages, I'm
afraid, so I don't send seed unless I know the plants were flowering in
isolation (by time or place). The seed does not need to be fresh. However,
it ordinarily takes two winters after sowing to produce seedling leaves (I
believe it's hypogeal, like some lilies, producing a radicle the first
year). The seedlings can be potted on when they go dormant in the fall. I
grow them in pots for another year or two before moving them to the garden.
They can flower when four or five years old.
Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA